All countries are taking action, and Jingguo, which is the second to last in theory and the weakest in practice, has an anxious atmosphere.
Judging from the current situation, Jingguo's strength is greater than that of Xiaguo, ranking third among the countries. The 70,000 to 80,000 heavily armored knights would be monsters elsewhere.
But he was in Yuzhou, and in the current game of the Four Kingdoms, Xia Guo had won two battles in a row, defeating Zhao Guo, the most powerful country in the world, and paper data no longer worked.
Excluding the Xia Kingdom, the Jing Kingdom was the weakest among the three kingdoms of Yuzhou. Although King Jing overpowered the other princes and ascended the throne, the loss of personnel in the civil war and the seizure of two lands by the Zhao Kingdom made the Jingguo's vitality was severely damaged.
Now it is the weakest among the three countries, and the entire country cannot feel the vitality of peace and is shrouded in gloom.
Jingguo is now isolated, and the neighboring states of Zhao and Zheng are more or less at odds with it. One of them took advantage of the crisis and took away Jingguo's land. A supporting young prince was defeated and executed, and King Jing ascended the throne. No congratulations.
Therefore, the national atmosphere in Jingguo feels depressing, because war may come at any time, and war has already arrived at the door, which can be felt by a keen sense of smell.
Some aristocratic families, in particular, would tell each other off, and the slightest bit of news would frighten them. The chaotic news also made it difficult for Jingguo to be stable.
Having just pacified the country, King Jing could not be complacent and quickly summoned his national advisor to discuss the future with the prince.
"What are Zhao Guo doing by making such a fuss and sacrificing his strength? Are you crazy?" King Jing is a slightly old middle-aged man. The old King Jing is too capable, so he can only be the prince for sixty years.
Zhao Guo has Zhao Guo's purpose, so naturally he is not crazy, but for King Jing, this way of lowering one's strength is no different from being crazy.
"It is to unify the military power. Zhao State and Xia State lost miserably in the battle. Now we must change to ensure victory in the next war with Xia State."
The Imperial Master is a young man. He is not wearing the traditional Taoist robe that monks like to wear, but a brocade robe with flowery cloud sleeves.
"The Xia Kingdom is also very powerful. It can make the Zhao Kingdom suffer such a big loss. I heard that the Queen Mother Zhao entered Xia and gave birth to a son for the Xia King. The Xia King really doesn't mind."
King Jing sighed and said, "I don't know whether it is a compliment or a sarcasm. The whole world knows that Zhao Guo lost his wife and troops. The king of Zhao does not want his mother, nor does he want his men and horses."
"The Queen Mother Zhao is a cultivator, and her appearance is just like that of a twenty-eight-year-old girl. What does King Xia dislike? But because of her seniority, she suddenly became King Zhao's little dad. She is very happy."
The Imperial Preceptor ridiculed that the most powerful country in the world was in ruins, and that it could be said to be a form of political correctness in Jingguo and Zhaoguo.
"So the King of Zhao's ability to risk everything like this must be indispensable for such excitement. He is also stupid. How could he think of wanting to lead a military expedition in person? Don't you understand why the son of a rich man cannot sit down in court?"
King Jing said disdainfully that he didn't know the internal reasons. Just looking at the appearance, King Zhao's decision seemed to be a disease.
Of course, King Zhao did not stand up when looking closely at the reasons. His prestige did not unite the aristocratic families, and it did not play the role of unifying the aristocratic families. He even failed to lead the ministers to fight against the enemy, which resulted in the disastrous defeat of King Zhao's personal expedition. The aristocratic family has its own calculations, which is considered a failure, but King Zhao also has to shoulder a big blame and assume leadership responsibilities.
"These monarchs all have their own arrogance. King Zhao is young and energetic. He wants to establish his prestige through military exploits. How could he know that he would encounter the Xia State who is like a tiger and a wolf? I still don't understand how Zhao State lost to Xia State. How does the country win? It’s clearer the second time.”
The Imperial Master shook his head, not knowing what to say. Monarchs always have a mysterious sense of self-confidence. The more powerful the monarch, the more so. They think that they are the chosen one, so everything they do seems to be based on their own ideas. That's what it looks like.
He had misunderstood King Zhao. King Zhao really thought about it carefully at that time, but he really didn't expect that the family could calculate so clearly.
"I won't be like this. I won't be careless about such a big thing as fighting for the dragon. It's just that our current situation is not optimistic. Both Zheng Guo and Zhao Guo are eyeing us."
King Jing took this as a warning, and it was also because of his age that he tended to be conservative and not as high-spirited as young people.
"To be precise, there is only Zheng Guo. Zhao Guo's biggest enemy at present is Xia Guo. Zhao Guo always wants to turn around and break the sharp knife behind him that may be stabbed in the back at any time. Everything he is doing now is to prepare for Xia Guo. , and not to deal with us, our only enemy is Zheng Guo.”
The National Advisor analyzed that Zhao State's integration of the military system was directed at Xia State. Otherwise, when dealing with Zheng State and Jing State, actual combat had shown that there was no need to reform the military system, and Jing State's two forces still fell into the hands of Zhao State.
"Zheng Guo, Zheng Guo, alas..." Speaking of Zheng Guo, King Jing sighed, not knowing what to say. The closeness between the two parties had become such a mess.
It was impossible for him to accept Zheng Guo's advice to keep his younger brother and leave the difficulties to his son. He couldn't do it, so he saw that the relationship between the two parties had become so stiff.
He glanced at his middle-aged son. He didn't want an uncle of his own age to seize power, so the best way to deal with it was to send his younger brother to see his father.
"Father, make preparations early. Zhao Guo has already contacted Zheng Guo. Zheng Guo's goal is our Jing Guo. There is no need to think too much about it."
Prince Jing handed over his hand and suggested that the Zheng State could no longer be regarded as its original ally. Both sides had their own agendas and coveted each other's land and population.
"Your Highness is right. Now even the two great gods Gou Chen and Ziwei can no longer reconcile the conflicts between Jing and Zheng. Your Majesty, don't have any thoughts of reconciliation. The current situation is either the destruction of Zheng or the destruction of Jing. .”
The Imperial Preceptor also advised, hearing King Jing's reluctance and regret, fearing that he would stubbornly think about the old covenant.
"No, no, I know very well. It's just a pity. I'm not that stupid. I still have expectations at this time."
King Jing waved his hand to calm down the mood of the two of them. He was also a qualified monarch, and he knew what he could and could not do.
"Your Majesty, it's good that you understand. Our troops and land are currently damaged. We must not think of slacking off, otherwise we will fall apart."
The National Preceptor solemnly warned that if the monarch of a weak country is a capitulator and a compromiser, then ministers and people will only compromise more. The monarch must show his determination in difficult times.
"Of course I understand, but how to alleviate our predicament? It seems that Zheng State has united with Zhao State, and Xia State has also sent a messenger, saying that both sides may use our two lands to make a fuss. How do you think we can solve it? .”
I don’t know the specific plan, but the matter surrounding the two lands has been discovered. This is simply the worst news among the bad news for Jingguo.
Zheng Guo will be bigger after eating two lands, but Jing Guo is still weak. Facing Zheng Guo will be even more difficult, or even completely at a disadvantage. Thinking about this situation makes people feel desperate.
"Based on the current intelligence, it can be inferred that Zhao Guo used us as bait to attract Zheng Guo, while Zhao Guo planned to go back and deal with Xia Guo behind it."
After the rebellion was put down and the country was reorganized, a few people had time to analyze this kind of national intelligence, although it was basically in a backward version.
"Zhao Guo thought well. He was originally motionless, but he threw a piece of meat to Jing and Zheng to beat him to death."
Prince Jing said in a gloomy tone that the feeling of being used as bait was extremely uncomfortable, but what could be done? Who calls Jing Guo weak?
"The problem is that we still have to grab it and let Zhao Guo slip away. Is this the so-called survival by cutting off the tail? Zhao Guo did it. The people inside are very wise."
King Jing said wisely, if you are willing to give up, there will be no gain if you are not willing to give up. If you do not throw out the bait and continue to maintain a hostile attitude towards the Three Kingdoms, then Zhao will be trapped to death. Now it seems that Zhao is indeed going to escape. Although It's not a very honorable escape, but it's definitely an escape.
"No matter how smart you are, you have lost two battles with the Xia Kingdom. Father, there is no way you are still afraid of the Zhao Kingdom."
Prince Jing, who is in his thirties and forties, is fearless. The performance of Zhao Guo's paper tiger has left a deep impression on people. Although Jing Guo was defeated, it was because Zhao Guo carried out a sneak attack and went to kill the second prince who was weak in strength. Is it worth showing off?
"Why are you not afraid? Zhao Guo's defeat against Xia Guo does not mean that it has lost to us. Forget it, we don't have to deal with Zhao Guo at the moment. Let alone other things, is there any way to fight against Zheng Guo?"
King Jing said calmly, "I'm afraid it won't be so easy for Zhao to overcome it in just a day or two. He has not taken advantage of any frictions, big or small. He has suffered a lot from depression."
"I have two strategies, but neither of them are successful. Your Majesty, Your Highness, please listen."
Returning to the topic of Zheng Guo, the imperial master couldn't help but show a headache expression. Jing Guo was really weak, Zheng Guo was really in trouble, and there was nothing he could do.
"National Master, please speak, we are all ears." One person's plan is short, and many people's plan is long. It is inherently difficult to use limited resources and space to deal with the crisis.
"First, form an alliance with the State of Zhao. The State of Zhao hopes that the rear will be stable when he attacks the State of Xia. Then we will break with the State of Zheng and form an alliance with the State of Zhao. Let him return our two Dao and act as Zhao's thugs here. Shock Zheng Guo."
The Imperial Master slowly talked about his plan, then made up for the shortcomings, and poured cold water on Prince Jing and his son when their eyes lit up.
"The State of Zhao does not want to see a balance of power between us and the State of Zheng, because if our strength is balanced with that of the State of Zheng, there will naturally be alliance rather than confrontation."
"Moreover, it will definitely be us who turn around after Zhao Guo has dealt with Xia Guo. We are just sitting there waiting for death and losing the chance to conquer the world. We can only solve the current urgent needs. Unless Zhao Guo loses to Xia Guo again with a huge advantage, the future will be unclear."
"Here's the second suggestion." After hearing the disadvantages and consequences, Prince Jing frowned. Not to mention whether this thing could be done, even if it was done, it would still be a wedding dress for Zhao Guo.
Zhao Guo is obviously a trapped dragon, how can he live like a wandering dragon? It is difficult for him to accept this kind of situation.
In the end, which monarch can accept his or her future destiny as failure, especially a powerful monarch like them.
"What is the second suggestion of the Imperial Master? Let us make a decision." King Jing also found this ending unacceptable.
"The second strategy is to gamble. We attack the State of Zhao, ignore the State of Zheng, and invite the State of Xia to attack the State of Zhao. If we succeed, we will stand on three pillars. If we fail, we will die and the country will be destroyed."
There was a touch of madness in the words of the Imperial Master, as he expressed his imagination.
"Ignore the problems of the Zheng State during the personal expedition. I only have one chance to eliminate the Zhao State. If only, then we can find a place in this struggle."
"How is it possible? Regardless of whether Zheng Guo and Xia Guo join forces to destroy Zhao Guo, how is this possible? Zhao Guo has more than 100,000 soldiers."
Prince Jing immediately jumped out to object, and he was frightened just listening to it. Being so radical was a gamble on the country's foundation, and if he lost, it would be all over.
"National Master, continue, what are the chances?" King Jing looked calm and was not frightened. Instead, he asked about the specific details.
"There is only one chance, less than 20%, no, maybe less than 10%, Zhao State's military reform will have its weakest moment. This moment is when Zhao State is at its weakest, and it is also when we are weak. , it is also the time when the Xia State is weak. If we attack at this time, as long as we defeat the Zhao State and divide his flesh and blood, then the Jing State will be able to return to the moment when the Three Kingdoms stand in harmony."
There was light in the eyes of the national master, and he clenched his fists, as if he had thought of that scenario. Practitioners should not take such risks, but after studying the situation, he could only come up with this almost self-destructive move.
"What should Zheng do? If he fails to conquer Zhao and is attacked by Zheng again..." It doesn't take a national teacher to say that Prince Jing could find a lot of disadvantages, all of which were fatal.
"So asking the monarch to lead the expedition in person, while His Majesty or His Highness stays behind, can only succeed but not fail. If the Zheng State attacks us, it means that they will not participate in the conquest of the Zhao State. If our elites are mobilized, what he will get is nothing more than a piece of white land. These seven or eight Wan's cavalry has lost its way out. Whether it is given to Zhao or Xia, Zheng Guo cannot accept it. He can only join us to attack Zhao in order to maintain their interests. Otherwise, they will face the cavalry of the Three Kingdoms. This is risking your life to survive!”
"At the same time, the Xia Kingdom is in a weak state at the moment and is not in harmony with the aristocratic family. Grabbing land and soldiers is far less attractive than our Jingguo. Because we are weak, the aristocratic family is more willing to help us. We can get a lot of Zhao Guo's corpse. part!"
The plan of the National Master is crazy. Doesn't this mean that one of them is waiting for death, while the other one goes out with the elite?
"It's ridiculous. What should I do with such an inheritance? These relatives of the emperor and the country..." Prince Jing was trembling and speechless.
"But this way we can compete in the world. If Zheng Guo is not dizzy, we can once again have the capital to compete in the world..."
"My home is gone, so what else..."
"Okay, okay, when will Xia's envoy arrive..."
At the end of the day, the elderly have probably had enough.
(End of chapter)
